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Geography of Tanzania

Location:Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Geographic coordinates:6 00 S, 35 00 E
Map references:Africa
Area:total: 945,087 sq km
land: 886,037 sq km
water: 59,050 sq km
note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
Area - comparative:slightly larger than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:total: 3,861 km
border countries: Burundi 451 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 459 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km
Coastline:1,424 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
Terrain:plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 m
Natural resources:hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel
Land use:arable land: 4.23%
permanent crops: 1.16%
other: 94.61% (2005)
Irrigated land:1,840 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought
Environment - current issues:soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa; bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa in the southwest

Tanzania Quickstats

  • Population: 39,384,223
  • Area: 945,087 sq km
  • Density: 41 /km² (159th)
  • GDP (total): $27.12 billion (99th)
  • GDP (per capita): $27.12 billion (99th)
  • Literacy: 69.4%

Languages of Tanzania

Useful to know

  • Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
  • Dial code: +255²[¹]

International Trade

External sites

More Resources

Tanzania Internet

  • Usage: 333,000
  • Penetration: 0.9 %
  • Top Domain: .tz

WT eBusiness info:

  • Success Ranking: 100
  • Market testing: Untested
  • Overall risk: High
  • Overall reward: Low

e-maturity:

  • Tourism: 10%
  • eCommerce: 10%
  • Gaming: 10%
  • eLearning: 10%

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